The Federal Constitutional Court has...

CORPORATE DONATIONS.

July 16, 1986

BONN, WEST GERMANY — CORPORATE DONATIONS. The Federal Constitutional Court has declared unconstitutional a law making corporate donations to political parties tax deductible. The decision represents an embarrassment to the three major German political parties, which supported the enactment of the law last year amid a scandal involving illicit political donations by the giant Flick industrial concern. Only the small Green Party opposed the legislation at the time. Proponents of the law said it was designed to clear up legislative ambiguities raised by the Flick donations. Its opponents said it opened the door to abuses of political power by corporate donors.